With the draft now just a day away, this is the perfect time to look back at Eagles drafts throughout history to determine the best and worst picks they've made at every position.
We set 1970 as a starting point for this only because that's when the AFL and NFL merged, creating the modern National Football League we now know (and also because that's when Ray Didinger started covering the Eagles for the Philadelphia Bulletin, and we figure anything that happened before Ray started covering the team doesn't really matter).
So here we go. We have the best and worst picks on offense today, with the best and worst defensive picks coming tomorrow.
Quarterback
Best: Donovan McNabb, 1st round, 1999
Looking back, this was a very tough call for the Eagles, but one of the very first decisions Andy Reid made as Eagles head coach may have been the best decision he ever made as Eagles head coach. By picking McNabb over Tim Couch, Akili Smith, Cade McNown and Daunte Culpepper, Reid got the Eagles pointed in the right direction for their playoff run from 2000 through 2009. McNabb won nine playoff games, made six Pro Bowls and threw more than twice as many TDs as interceptions in his 11 years as Eagles QB. Best quarterback in Eagles history and it's not close.
Worst: Kevin Kolb, 2nd round, 2007
This comes down to Kolb vs. Bobby Hoying. Kolb was a second-round pick and Hoying a third-round pick. Hoying won only three games in the NFL and Kolb won just nine -- only three as an Eagle. But the edge goes to Kolb since he was supposed to be the heir apparent to McNabb and he was a very high second-round pick -- 36th overall. He had a couple big games but ultimately was too brittle and too shaky in the pocket to last in the NFL.
From 2000 through 2015, 47 quarterbacks have been taken in the first 36 picks and only seven won fewer games than Kolb.
Running back
Best: Brian Westbrook, 3rd round, 2002
It has to be Shady vs. Westbrook. Westbrook was a third-round pick in 2002, and LeSean McCoy was a second-round pick in 2009. As great as Shady has been, the edge goes to Westbrook. From 2004 through 2008, he was the best running back in the NFC, and to me, his big edge on Shady is in playoff production. Westbrook averaged 4.6 yards per carry in the postseason with 33 receptions and six TDs and was part of seven postseason wins. McCoy averaged 3.9 yards per carry in the playoffs with nine catches and one TD and no postseason wins.
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Only three third-round picks in NFL history have more yards from scrimmage than Westbrook: Curtis Martin, Frank Gore and Ahman Green.
Worst: Michael Haddix, 1st round, 1983
You could go Siran Stacy here. He was the 48th player taken in the 1992 draft and never had an NFL carry and lasted just one year in the NFL. But come on. It's got to be Michael Haddix, the eighth player taken in the 1983 draft. Haddix finished his career with a 3.0 rushing average, the lowest in NFL history. On the board when the Eagles picked at No. 8? Dan Marino, John Elway, Joey Browner, Bruce Matthews, Roger Craig, Mark Clayton, Albert Lewis, Richard Dent, Henry Ellard, Anthony Carter and Chris Hinton. To name a few. Oops.
Wide receiver
Best: Mike Quick, 1st round, 1982
There haven't been that many good ones. It comes down to close friends Mike Quick and Harold Carmichael, with DeSean Jackson also in the mix. But I'll go with Quick simply because from 1983 through 1987, he was as good as any wide receiver in football. Quick's career was cut short by knee injuries courtesy of the Veterans Stadium concrete turf. Carmichael played a lot longer and had a tremendous career, but during that five-year period from 1983 through 1987, Quick caught 309 passes for 5,437 yards and an NFL-best 53 touchdowns with a ridiculous 17.6 per-catch average despite never really having an elite quarterback. He had Jaws after his prime and Randall before his prime. Quick, the 20th pick in the 1982 draft, made five straight Pro Bowls before his knees gave out.
Worst: Freddie Mitchell, 1st round, 2001
Now, this is a tough call. Mike Bellamy was a second-round pick in 1990 and never caught a pass. Kenny Jackson was the fourth pick overall in 1984 and averaged 15 catches per season as a pro. Nelson Agholor has been a massive disappointment. There was Reggie Brown in the second round in 2005, third-round failures Josh Huff, Chris T. Jones and Billy McMullen. Plenty of guys to choose from. But it has to be Freddie Mitchell, mainly because of who the Eagles bypassed to take him. On the board when the Eagles picked at No. 25 in 2001: Reggie Wayne, Steve Smith, Chad Johnson, T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Chris Chambers, for starters. Those five combined for 4,034 catches, 55,020 yards, 336 touchdown catches and 19 Pro Bowls. Freddie? He finished with 90 catches, 1,263 yards and five TDs.
Tight end
Best: Brent Celek, 5th round, 2007
Keith Jackson is the obvious choice, but he spent only four years with the Eagles and although he made three Pro Bowls and continued playing through 1996, he was never the same player after 1990. I'm going out of the box here and picking someone who never made a Pro Bowl and never had a 1,000-yard season. In 10 seasons here, Brent Celek has piled up 385 catches, 4,868 yards and 30 touchdowns. Celek, a fifth-round pick in 2007, is the only remaining position player on the roster who's won a postseason game as an Eagle. But more importantly, he's had a really solid career as the 162nd player taken in the draft a decade ago and has represented the team and the city superbly for 10 years now, as opposed to Jackson, who wanted out so bad he challenged (and beat) the NFL's free-agency rules. Celek? Only seven tight ends in NFL history have played 10 or more years, all with the same team, and caught more passes. Celek has quietly become an all-time great Eagle.
Worst: Lawrence Sampleton, 2nd round, 1982
The Eagles used the 47th overall pick on Lawrence Sampleton in 1982, and the second-round pick generated just three catches for 52 yards in parts of three NFL seasons with them. Sampleton added eight receptions as a scab with the Dolphins in 1987. Even with those catches, Sampleton finished his career with 11 catches, and only 10 tight ends in NFL history drafted among the top 50 picks finished their career with fewer.
Offensive tackle
Best: Tra Thomas, 1st round, 1998
Another no-brainer. Has to be Tra Thomas, who manned left tackle for the Eagles at an exceptional level from Day 1 of 1999, his rookie year, through the 2008 NFC Championship Game. Thomas missed just 11 games in 10 years in Philly, was named to three Pro Bowl teams and started all 10 playoff wins under Andy Reid. In fact, the last time the Eagles won a playoff game without Tra starting was 1995. Thomas announced, "I won't be another Eagles first-round bust," on draft day in 1995, and he was sure right.
Worst: Kevin Allen, 1st round, 1985
The less said about Kevin Allen the better. He was the ninth pick in the 1985 draft, which means the Eagles selected him 12 picks ahead of Jerry Rice. Mid-1980s were not good ones for the Eagles. From 1983 through 1985, they selected Michael Haddix and Kevin Allen instead of Dan Marino and Jerry Rice. Imagine Marino throwing to Rice for the Eagles from 1985 through 1995? Just imagine.
Guard
Best: Jermane Mayberry, 1st round, 1996
You could go with Shawn Andrews, who did make two Pro Bowls and earn All-Pro status once before back injuries and other issues derailed his career after just 63 games. But ultimately, we remember Andrews for reasons other than what he did on the football field, and I'm going with Jermane Mayberry, who didn't work out as a left tackle but became a very good guard, even making his first Pro Bowl in 2002 - his seventh NFL season. Mayberry started at right guard through the whole 2000 through 2004 stretch, when the Eagles reached four straight NFC Championship Games.
Worst: Fireman, 1st round, 2011
I can't even write his name. Let's just say the Eagles used the 23rd pick of the 2011 draft to select a 26-year-old Canadian who wanted to be a fireman and not a football player.
Center
Best: Jason Kelce, 6th round, 2009
Not many candidates here. A lot of the Eagles' recent starting centers - Bubba Miller, Hank Fraley, Jamaal Jackson - were undrafted. Jason Kelce may be on the outs these days, but he's been a solid center for this team since he was a sixth-round pick in 2009. In fact, Kelce is the only offensive lineman the Eagles have drafted in the last 12 years to make a Pro Bowl, and he's made two.
Worst: Scott Peters, 4th round, 2002
Tough to find a bad center the Eagles have drafted because they haven't drafted one in the first three rounds since Guy Morriss in 1973 - 44 years ago. The highest they've drafted a center since then is the fourth round, and that was center-guard Scott Peters out of Arizona State in 2002. Peters never played a down for the Eagles and played in just seven games in his career, all with the Giants, and all losses. He was out of football soon after his 25th birthday.
